Lower Brewers Lock 45 - Waterway Locks, Planes and Lifts on Waymarking.com

The first lockmaster, recommended by Colonel By, was Thomas Green, a corporal in the 7th Company, Royal Sappers and Miners. He seems to have been replaced in about 1834-45 by James Callaway, also of the 7th Company, Royal Sappers and Miners. For a brief period, 1844 to mid-1846, Thomas Richey of First Rapids (Poonamalie) was lockmaster. He was dismissed (unfit for duty) in 1846 and replaced by Richard Carey, who was himself replaced in 1851 by William Beal. In 1855 Beal was succeeded by William Robinson who was transferred to Kingston Mills in 1856. His successor was John McGillivray who retired in 1882, and was replaced by his son Henry McGillivray. Henry died in 1891 and was replaced by William Glenn, a lock labourer at the station. He was discharged in 1896 for political patronage reasons but was reinstated in 1897 and served until his death in 1902. Henry McBroom, recommended by a local politician, became lockmaster in 1903 and served until his retirement in 1933. He was followed by S. Woodstock from 1934 to 1937; unknown from 1938 to 1943; Frasier Ball from 1943 to 1944; Percy Gilbert from 1944 to 1954; H.A. Cooper from 1954 to 1956; unknown from 1957 to 1959; J.L. Jones from 1960 to 1965; Byron L. Nixon from 1964 to 1973; Terry Carlo from 1973 to 1979; Albert Mills from 1980 to ?; Doug Langille, acting in the mid 1980s; and P.J. O'Meara from 1986 to 2000.

Waterway Name: Rideau Canal Connected Points: The plan submitted by Samuel Clowes in 1824 consisted of single locks at Brewer's Lower Mills, Billidore's Rifts and Jack's Rifts (three locks in total). In between these locks, the line of the canal would be straightened, cutting off all the curves of the natural route of the Cataraqui River. John Burrows, in the diary of his second survey of the Rideau route in July 1827, in commenting on Clowes' plan, wrote: "… it was with a feeling of regret that [we] found Mr. Clows has laid out and done considerable work in forming the line of the canal from Kingston Mills to Brewers Mills in direct hostility to the kindness of Divine Nature, who has formed the canal, with but few exceptions for the whole of that distance, in gentle curves, as Hogarth has it 'lines of beauty'. This to the modern engineer is gall and bitterness, apart from the immense expense incurred. Nature may be improved by Science, but never altered." The original plan was similar to that put forward by Clowes, with the exception that more of the Cataraqui channel was to be used, with only a few sharp bends to be excavated. At Brewer's Lower Mills, a canal cut was to be excavated around the mill works so as to leave them undisturbed. A lock of 10 feet 7 inches (3.2 m) depth was proposed. The mill dam, which held back 11 feet (3.4 m) of water, was to be maintained. At Billidore's Rifts a lock with a lift of 5 feet (1.5 m) and wing walls to block the channel (instead of a dam) was proposed. Exactly the same was proposed for Jack's Rifts. Before the contracts were released, plans had changed. It was realized that extensive rock work would be required at Kingston Mills. By decided to add an extra lock and increase the height of the dam at Kingston Mills so that he could build his locks on top of the rock, rather than having to excavate down through it. This proposal put enough head of water over Jack's Rifts and Billidore's Rifts as to preclude the need for dams and locks at these locations. Type: Lock Date Opened: 06/06/1832 Elevation Difference (meters): 4.00 Site Status: Operational Web Site: [Web Link] Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Logs marked as “visits” should be made after physically visiting the waymark location. Include a picture taken during the visit. Notes may be logged by individuals who have visited the web site or looked at the online information and would like to provide comments or feedback on the waymark.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   07/16/2022 jiggs11 visited it